Danesmoor Residential Care Home

Updated 19 November 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector.

Service and service type

Danesmoor Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We also sought feedback from the local authority.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all this information to help us plan the inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people living in the home, five care staff, the housekeeper, the registered manager and two directors of the company including the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke with a visiting healthcare professional.

We had a tour of the building with the registered manager and reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care documentation, two staff files and eight people’s medication records. We also reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 19 November 2021

About the service

Danesmoor Residential Care Home is a residential home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for 24 people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection, 16 people lived at the home. The home is set in its own grounds in a residential area of Haslingden.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe living in the home and staff were kind and caring. Staff understood how to safeguard people from abuse and report any concerns. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs and ensure their safety. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others. People were protected from the risks associated with the spread of infection. Medicines were managed safely in the home. Whilst police checks and references had been obtained prior to new staff working in the home, there were gaps in one staff member’s history of employment. The manager assured us this issue would be addressed.

Effective systems were in place to ensure lessons were learnt from any incidents and the registered manager understood their responsibility to be open and honest when something went wrong.

All people had a care plan which detailed their needs and preferences. The registered manager had ensured all staff had ready access to up to date information about people’s needs. People were provided with appropriate activities and had access to a complaints procedure. Staff had good relationships with the people living in the home and we observed staff responding to people’s needs with kindness and respect.

The provider, registered manager and staff had worked hard to address the shortfalls found at the previous inspection and were confident the improvements would be sustained. The registered manager carried out a number of audits to check the quality of the service. They provided clear leadership and took into account the views of people, their relatives and staff about the quality of care provided. The registered manager and staff used the feedback to make ongoing improvements to the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 6 October 2020) and there were two breaches of the regulations identified in relation to the management of risks and the governance of the service. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to make the necessary improvements.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of medicines, care practices, record keeping and the management of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Danesmoor Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.